Return to the BUILD
In this issue, we will attach and test the navigation lights then install the bridge decking to the forward boat deck.
Contents
Parts
Materials: The Forward Boat Deck and Bridge is plastic, the Decking for Bridge is wood veneer.
Magazine
- Giant of the Sea – Final Recovery
- 20th Century – Titanic the Blockbuster (Part IV)
- Step-by-Step Instructions
Build
Forward Boat Deck and Bridge
As I have done before with our superstructures, I wanted to apply light-blocking to this Forward Boat Deck and Bridge. However, this light-blocking only needs to be applied to the floor/ceiling sections that will be inside the walls of the ship (the small ridges all over this part will fit just inside the walls). This will hopefully help keep the our lighting from bleeding out along the plastic itself, appearing as a glow along deck edges and joints.
First, I masked off these interior sections (on both sides):
Next, I painted these floor/ceiling surfaces of the Forward Boat Deck and Bridge with Vallejo Model Air 71.057 Black acrylic paint:
As we will be installing the LEDs for the ship’s navigation lights in this issue, I also hand-painted the interior surfaces of these ‘boxes’ on the Forward Boat Deck and Bridge with the same black paint to hopefully block this LED from causing the nearby walls to bleed light and glow:
Finally, instead of using my Molotow Chrome Pen as before, I airbrushed over the black paint layer with a coat of Vallejo Model Air 71.064 Chrome Metallic to help evenly spread our lighting around inside the structure:
Step 1
With the LED facing down, press the hole of the LED Light (41C – with the plug marked ‘L’) down onto this port-side (left) peg of the Forward Boat Deck and Bridge.
Before installing, I recommend gently bending the wires of these two LED Lights to be vertical from the circuit board, as shown:
This is where the plugs of these LED Lights are marked, here with the letter ‘L’:
Make sure the circuit board is completely seated onto this peg – the board of the PCB should be level with, or below, the edges of this ‘box’. Note that I took this picture before I bent the wires as mentioned above:
The reason I bent these wires was so they could be tightly tucked down into the nearby channel, as seen here:
Lay the wires of this LED Light down into the curved channel of the Forward Boat Deck and Bridge, fitting them under the two small tabs along the way as shown.
I tried using my fingers, then round-nose tweezers, to squeeze these wires around and under the tabs but found it tiresome. It was much easier to just cut these two tabs off with my sprue cutters and then super glue the wires down into the channel. The end result we are trying to achieve here is to have the wires completely below the level of the deck so the Decking for Bridge we will place above these wires will lay totally flat:
Feed the plug of the LED Light down through this hole of the Forward Boat Deck and Bridge:
Step 2
In the same way, press the hole of the LED Light (41D – with the plug marked ‘M’) down onto this starboard-side (right) peg of the Forward Boat Deck and Bridge.
This step is the same as the previous one, just on the other side of the ship. As before, make sure the circuit board is completely seated onto this peg:
Like before, lay the wires of this LED Light down into the curved channel of the Forward Boat Deck and Bridge, fitting them under the two small tabs along the way. Then, feed the plug of the LED Light down into this hole, as shown.
Again, I just snipped off the two tabs in the channel and then glued the wires down into place – much quicker and easier:
Step 3
Check that both of these LED Lights work by connecting each of them, one at a time, to the MOT/LED socket of the Tester Unit (from Issue 3):
Step 4
Test fit the Decking for Bridge to the Forward Boat Deck and Bridge, aligning the holes as shown.
Be very careful when handling this Decking as it is delicate and can break quite easily. However, if it does break, you can still place the pieces as needed:
When satisfied with the fitment, gently peel the backing paper off the Decking and stick it down into place.
As with my previous decking, I removed the backing paper of this Decking for Bridge and sprayed the sticky side with my 3M 45 General Purpose Adhesive Spray. This will help prevent my Decking from curling or bowing in the future:
Thoughts
This is the largest section of superstructure we have received yet! I know I might go a little crazy with the light-blocking, but any time there is lighting on a model, we have to consider where it is going and how to control it. I feel it just a bit more realism when the model is complete.
Next Up
Issue 42 – Bridge Bulkhead, Telegraphs, Pillars, Navigation Lights, Steering Wheels/Columns, Binnacles, Pelorus, Platforms, Decking